Mental health challenges affect 1 in 5 Canadians, including over one million children annually, yet only 20% receive treatment. Social, cultural, and structural inequities create significant barriers to care, particularly for racialized populations. Black youth face disproportionate challenges: they report the highest distress levels to Kids Help Phone, experiencing greater depression and anxiety than other callers, yet encounter multiple barriers accessing services compared to White counterparts. These barriers stem from systemic racism, cultural misunderstanding that devalues African knowledge systems, financial constraints, and inappropriate service delivery. Immigrant youth receive fewer mental health services than non-immigrants, often accessing care only through emergency or justice system interventions, with alarming police interaction fatalities reflecting broader exclusion patterns. Despite Canada's growing Black population, no published study examines the intersectional experiences of Black immigrant youth of African descent (BIYAD). This represents a critical gap: existing research either aggregates Black youth within broader populations or examines Black youth and immigrants separately, overlooking the complex interplay of multiple identities. The UN Working Group's 2017 mandate to address Canada's African community mental health crisis underscores this study's urgency.

This study addresses this gap by integrating Critical Race Theory with the African-centred "Ubuntu" approach, emphasizing interconnectedness and communal interdependence. BIYAD experience unique, compounding disadvantages from settlement pressures, language barriers, cultural adaptation challenges, and potential trauma from war-affected regions. Understanding their lived experiences is essential for informing equitable policies, challenging discriminatory practices, and advancing social justice initiatives addressing mental health inequities' root causes.